Exploring Mars with rovers Curiosity and Opportunity

( Updated: 03/28/2014 )

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Mars’ northern-most sand dunes are seen as they begin to emerge from their winter cover of seasonal carbon dioxide (dry) ice in this image acquired by the HiRISE camera aboard NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Jan. 16, 2014. The steeply sides of the dunes are also ice-free along the crest, allowing sand to slide down the dune. Dark splotches are places where ice cracked earlier in spring, releasing sand. NASA/JPL-Caltech/Univ. of Arizona/Handout via Reuters

An impact crater on Mars is seen in an image taken by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter on Nov. 19, 2013. The crater spans approximately 100 feet in diameter and is surrounded by a large, rayed blast zone. Because the terrain where the crater formed is dusty, the fresh crater appears blue in the enhanced color of the image, due to removal of the reddish dust in that area. NASA/JPL-Caltech/Univ. of Arizona/Reuters

This image provided by NASA shows loose, BB-sized, hematite-rich spherules embedded in this Martian rock and released over time by erosion. The Mars Rover Opportunity found this cluster of them at its Eagle Crater landing site and analyzed their composition with its spectrometers. Hypotheses about their formation have contributed to the story of water on Mars. Ten years after NASA landed two rovers on Mars on a 90-day mission, one rover is still exploring, and the project has generated hundreds of thousands of images from the Martian surface. NASA/JPL-Caltech/Cornell University/AP

NASA's Mars Science Laboratory rover Curiosity appears as a bluish dot near the lower right corner of this enhanced-color view from the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter taken on June 27, 2013 and released on July 24, 2013. The rover's tracks are visible extending from the landing site, 'Bradbury Landing,' in the left half of the scene. Two bright, relatively blue spots surrounded by darker patches are where the Mars Science Laboratory spacecraft's landing jets cleared away reddish surface dust at the landing site. NASA/JPL-Caltech/Univ. of Arizona/Reuters

This photo of Mars was stitched together by images taken by NASA’s Viking Orbiter spacecraft and released on July 9, 2013. The space agency is planning to send a spacecraft similar to the Curiosity rover to the red planet in 2020. NASA/AP

The six-wheel rover Curiosity collected a sample of powdered rock in a scoop after drilling into a Martian rock. The next step is to transfer a portion to its onboard laboratories for analysis. Curiosity landed in August 2012 to study whether the environment was hospitable for microbes. NASA/AP

Self-portrait of the rover Curiosity, combining dozens of exposures taken by the rover's Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) during the 177th Martian day, or sol, Feb. 3, 2013. The rover is positioned at a patch of flat outcrop called 'John Klein,' which was selected as the site for the first rock-drilling activities by Curiosity. MSSS/JPL-Caltech/NASA//Reuters

A fresh drill hole (c.) made by the Curiosity rover on Feb. 8, 2013 next to an earlier test hole. Curiosity has completed its first drill into a Martian rock, a huge milestone since landing in an ancient crater in August 2012. NASA/AP

This image of an outcrop at the 'Sheepbed' locality, taken by NASA's Curiosity Mars rover with its right Mast Camera (Mastcam), shows well-defined veins filled with whitish minerals, interpreted as calcium sulfate. NASA released the image Jan. 15, 2013. MSSS/JPL-Caltech/NASA/AP

This pair of images from the Mast Camera on NASA's Curiosity rover shows the upper portion of a windblown deposit dubbed 'Rocknest.' The rover team recently commanded Curiosity to take a scoop of soil from a region located out of frame. The soil was then analyzed with the Chemistry and Mineralogy instrument, or CheMin. The colors in the image at left are unmodified, showing the scene as it would appear on Mars. The image at right has been white-balanced to show what the same area would look like under the lighting conditions on Earth. The rounded rock located in the upper center of the images is about eight inches across. NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS/The Herald-Times/AP

This image provided by NASA shows shows a Martian rock outcrop near the landing site of the rover Curiosity thought to be the site of an ancient streambed. Curiosity landed in a crater near Mars' equator on Aug. 5, 2012, on a two-year mission to study whether the environment could have been favorable for microbial life. NASA/AP

This undated image shows the mineral olivine in the form of tumbled crystals about a quarter-inch in size. The Martian soil examined by the Chemistry and Mineralogy (CheMin) instrument on NASA's Curiosity rover shows the diffraction signature, or 'fingerprint,' of olivine. Caltech/The Herald-Times/AP

This set of NASA handout images compares the Link outcrop of rocks on Mars (l.) with similar rocks seen on Earth (r.). The image of Link taken September 2, 2012 and released September 27, 2012, was obtained by NASA's Curiosity rover and shows rounded gravel fragments, or clasts, up to a couple inches (few centimeters), within the rock outcrop. The outcrop characteristics are consistent with a sedimentary conglomerate, or a rock that was formed by the deposition of water and is composed of many smaller rounded rocks cemented together. A typical Earth example of sedimentary conglomerate formed of gravel fragments in a stream is shown on the right. PSI/JPL-Caltech/MSSS/NASA/Reuters

In this image released by NASA on Monday, Aug. 27, 2012, a chapter of the layered geological history of Mars is laid bare in this color image from NASA's Curiosity rover showing the base of Mount Sharp, the rover's eventual science destination. The image is a portion of a larger image taken by Curiosity's 100-millimeter Mast Camera on Aug. 23, 2012. Scientists enhanced the color in one version to show the Martian scene under the lighting conditions we have on Earth, which helps in analyzing the terrain. The pointy mound in the center of the image, looming above the rover-sized rock, is about 1,000 feet (300 meters) across and 300 feet (100 meters) high. MSSS/JPL-Caltech/NASA/AP

A view through a Hazard-Avoidance camera on NASA's Curiosity rover before and after the clear dust cover was removed, is seen in this image comparison released by NASA August 7, 2012. Both images were taken by a camera at the front of the rover. Mount Sharp, the mission's ultimate destination, looms ahead. NASA/JPL-Caltech/Reuters

This composite image, with magnified insets, depicts the first laser test by the ChemCam instrument aboard NASA's Curiosity rover on Mars. The composite incorporates a Navigation Camera image taken prior to the test, with insets taken by the camera in ChemCam. The circular insert highlights the rock before the laser test. The square inset is further magnified and processed to show the difference between images taken before and after the laser interrogation of the rock. The test took place on Aug. 19, 2012. NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS/LANL/Reuters

This image shows a high-resolution, 360-degree color panorama of Gale Crater taken by the Curiosity rover, which landed on Mars, Aug. 5, 2012. NASA/AP

The Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) team in the MSL Mission Support Area reacts after learning the Curiosity rover has landed safely on Mars and images start coming into the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, in Pasadena, Calif., Aug. 5, 2012. Bill Ingalls/NASA/Reuters

In this image released by NASA Jan. 18, 2005, the robotic arm of rover Opportunity can be seen investigating a basketball-sized metal meteorite sitting on the surface of Mars. Scientists said the discovery was made while Opportunity was taking a look at a spacecraft shell that was jettisoned before landing after protecting the rover during its plunge through the Martian atmosphere. NASA/AP

The High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter acquired this color image on March 9, 2011, of 'Santa Maria' crater showing rover Opportunity perched on the southeast rim on Mars. The rover is the bluish speck on the crater rim (with indicator arrow.) Rover tracks are visible to the west of the crater. NASA/JPL-Caltech/Univ. of Arizona/Reuters

This artist rendering shows the NASA rover Opportunity on the surface of Mars. Opportunity landed on the red planet on Jan. 24, 2004, and is still exploring. Its twin, Spirit, stopped communicating in 2010. NASA/AP